Mott MacDonald leads national procurement to upgrade Ireland’s inter-city rail

Mott MacDonald, a UK-based engineering consultancy, has been appointed by Irish Rail (IÉ) to lead the Connect project to upgrade and electrify Ireland’s inter-city network.

The project focuses on the Dublin–Cork and Dublin–Limerick main lines, aiming to deliver faster, more frequent services while reducing carbon emissions.

The consultancy will develop a comprehensive implementation strategy and decarbonisation roadmap, defining the infrastructure, service, and policy interventions required for a high-capacity, low-carbon rail network.

Early findings suggest journey times on key inter-city routes could be reduced by up to 30 minutes through targeted infrastructure upgrades, raising maximum speeds to 200km/h and introducing a new electric fleet.

Mainline electrification is a recommendation from the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, published in 2024 by Ireland’s Department of Transport and the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) in Northern Ireland. The report also advised widening sections of the core inter-city network to two or four tracks, enabling service frequencies of at least hourly.

The Connect project is funded by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and Ireland’s National Development Plan 2021–2030. It is expected to more than double annual inter-city passenger numbers by 2050 and support Ireland’s Climate Action Plan and the EU Green Deal by shifting significant passenger volumes from private car to rail.

Mary Considine, chief executive of IÉ, said: “The Connect rail project is a significant investment by the European Union, together with the Irish government, in developing rail as the backbone of a sustainable transport system for Ireland’s citizens.”

Tony O’Toole, managing director for rail, UK and Europe, at Mott MacDonald, added: “Our deep understanding of rail systems, combined with our long-standing presence in Ireland, places us perfectly to lead the Connect project.”

Learn more about how Mott MacDonald will drive Ireland’s rail upgrade through the Connect project in the full story.